Blackout Wednesday (also known as Dranksgiving) refers to binge drinking on the night before the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. Very few people work on Thanksgiving, and most college students are home with their families for the Thanksgiving holiday, which means that high school friends can catch up at the local bar as they converge on their hometown.
Blacking out is a slang term for unconsciousness and/or memory loss due to excessive alcohol intoxication. In some Chicago suburbs like Elmhurst, Highwood, Naperville, and Rockford, Blackout Wednesday can be a more popular party night than New Year's Eve or Saint Patrick's Day.
In some cities, it is the worst drunk driving night of the year, and police departments increase patrols checking for drunk driving in many jurisdictions including in Indianawthr.com JENNIE RUNEVITCH, Police to increase patrols for "Blackout Wednesday" WTHR, 11/23/2016 and Minnesota.Tim Harlow, On 'Blackout Wednesday' law enforcement will be looking for blitzed drivers startribune.com NOVEMBER 22, 2016 MADD reports that the Thanksgiving holiday produces more people killed in drunk driving crashes than the Christmas holiday.MADD MADD’s “Tie One On For Safety” Holiday Campaign Cautions Drivers as More Highway Deaths Caused by Drunk Driving 11/13/2012
The term "Dranksgiving" dates to 2007. The phenomenon is believed to have originated decades before terms were coined to describe it.How the night before Thanksgiving became the biggest drinking night of the year by Amelia Rayno, from the Star-Tribune of Minneapolis, Minnesota; November 22, 2017
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